How Canadian Cities Are Driving Change: Collaboration for Climate Action
Achieving lasting impact in addressing global challenges—especially climate change—requires more than isolated efforts; it needs collective action and shared expertise. We believe real, lasting impact comes from working together, sharing knowledge, and building solutions are integrated, working across different orders of government, with the communities that those governments serve.
Innovate for Cities Conference in Montreal
These values are central to how we approach every project we undertake, and we are proud to highlight them in our recently completed work to support the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy (GCoM) in the Americas with funding from the European Union. GCOM is the largest global alliance for city climate leadership. As senior advisors for North America in 2023 and 2024, Nexus accompanied the efforts of GCOM to share learnings across Canada, the U.S. and Europe about how cities are reducing greenhouse gas emissions and adapting to the changing climate.
So, what does this mean in practice?
True climate progress happens at the local level. That’s why working with local government practitioners is so important—these are the people making climate action real, whether by improving home energy efficiency, expanding EV charging networks, or strengthening urban resilience. By supporting them, we ensure that policies translate into tangible change for communities.
However, municipalities often face challenges accessing funding and support.
That’s where we came in.
In-group training session at the Innovate for Cities Conference in Montreal as part of the GCoM Canada Implementation Cohort.
Helping Cities in Canada
In Canada, as part of our work with GCoM, Nexus supported Canadian municipalities in navigating climate funding opportunities.
One of our key contributions? Helping municipal leaders make sense of federal funding programs. Through direct consultations, we’ve gathered insights on:
Which federal level funding programs cities are applying to—and why.
What obstacles they face in the application process.
How we can make funding more accessible and impactful.
These insights helped shape our report, Navigating Federal Support: Funding Opportunities for Canadian Municipal Climate Initiatives, a resource designed to streamline the funding process and empower cities to take bold climate action.
Collaboration isn’t just about reports and strategy—it’s about getting in the room, exchanging ideas, and learning from one another. That’s why we supported an in-group training session at the Innovate for Cities Conference in Montreal as part of the GCoM Canada Implementation Cohort. This program, launched in March 2024 by ICLEI Canada, brought municipal staff together to share experiences, tackle challenges, and accelerate climate action in their communities.
Helping Cities in the USA
Nexus also supported the GCoM in the US.
Working through the Urban Sustainability Directors Network (USDN), three webinars were held (July, September, and October 2024) that included presentations from European municipalities in Ireland, Spain, the Netherlands, Denmark, the UK and Norway. Topics included how municipalities can work across different orders of government, how municipalities can engage in different types of partnerships with the private sector and communities to respond to climate change, and how municipalities can integrate climate considerations across their municipal budget.
Another key milestone was the USDN Annual Gathering in Minneapolis in October 2024, where we brought together municipal leaders to exchange insights, share best practices, and strengthen transatlantic collaboration, ensuring that cities on both sides of the Atlantic can learn from each other’s successes.
Looking Ahead: A Sustainable Future
Our work with GCoM, ICLEI Canada, USDN, and the European Union is all about empowering cities to lead the way on climate action, sharing expertise and experience locally, nationally, and internationally. By fostering collaboration and making resources more accessible, we’re ensuring that municipalities have the tools they need to drive real change—today and in the future.
Nexus is committed to this journey, and we’re excited about what’s ahead. Let’s keep the momentum going—because when we work together, we can build a more sustainable, resilient world.